Rcvd in trade.
The appearance had a dark brown close to a black colored body with a one fingered white foamy head that concaves at the edges once it dies; lacing slides into the body.
The smell had some brown sugar, plums, light raisins and then takes the Belgian yeast to combine subtly and give a spicy sweet aroma to pummel my olfactory senses - wonderful.
The taste was spicy and sweet at the same time; sticky sweet and spicy aftertaste, dry lingering sticky sweet finish.
On the palate, it sits about at a medium on the body - closer to a sipper, carbonation runs fairly smooth around my mouth and tongue and is good for the most part for the style and for me.
Overall, I say this is a good Quad well worthy of coming back to.

Pours deep mahogany into a trappist glass. Tan head with little retention recedes to skim surface. Dusty plum skin aromas. Sweet and full with dark pit fruit, warming fig and prune front to back. Lasting dusty brown bread and pumpernickel finish.

Draft - Dark fruit, brown sugar and the sweet plum. Jet black with a rich light brown head. Brown sugar, dark fruit and boozy Belgian yeastSlight plum in the finish, but not much. I love the quad, I just wish the plums were more pronounced.

Bottle: Very dark auburn color with a finger of thick, creamy tan head. Sweet aroma of plum, malt, and yeast. Wonderfully smooth feel and transition of flavors. Minimal yeast, but its there. Plums, grape, Belgian candy sugar, malts and this toffee/pitted fruit vibe that has me thinking of molasses. A little too muchon the sweet side for my taste. The heavy, silky weight keeps it from being syrupy… overall I wanted to like this more, but it fails to live up to the original. Rating #2500! Fitting it’s a Sierra Nevada as SNPA was one of my ’gateway’ beers twelve years ago.

375ml corked and caged bottle, from a four pack purchased for 11.50 - I figured just under three bucks a bottle fo a quad aged on plums harvested by monks wasn’t too bad a deal - cork removed with just a small pop - low carbonation evidenced in the pour, but it still manages to settle in with a creamy off white head - dark ruby with a purplish tint - sweet nose of toffee, treacle, raisin, fig, plum, brown sugar, with some balancing spiciness from the yeast, some light oxidized character, a light metallic note - low carbonation, fairly creamy texture - initially very sweet flavor of candied plums, raisin, treacle - some spiciness arrives late, along with some slight peppery phenolics and dusty/earthy qualities, but the high sweetness is never completely balanced - finish has some alcohol heat - pretty solid, but you need to enjoy beers on the sweet side (even for quads).

Aroma is fruity with tons of plum notes. Sweet dark caramel and toffee notes with some toasted bread and just a hint of roast. Light cherry and prune notes as well. Pours a dark brown with ruby highlights and a moderately thick dark tan head that slowly but steadily recedes. Medium light lacing with moderate legs. Flavor is moderately sweet with toffee and caramel with some light roast. Moderate plum character with lighter notes of cherries and prunes. Medium light astringency in the finish along with some roast and prunes. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with medium carbonation. Medium astringency and medium low alcohol warmth. Overall an alright beer but the finish is not very palatable. The astringency is off putting as is the roast character.

Pours black with ruby highlights and a large head.Nose shows brown sugar, candi sugar, golden syrup. Incredibly sweet-smelling.Somewhat harsh flavours, with hot alcohol throughout. Lots of sweetness with golden syrup and candied figs. Cloying finish.Carbonation feels a bit full-on.

375 ml bottle into chalice, bottled on 2/7/2013. Pours hazy nearly opaque reddish brown color with a 1 finger dense tan head with good retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Light spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass. Aromas of raisin, plum, prune, banana, clove, pepper, toast, dark bread, molasses, candi sugar, light chocolate, light bubblegum, and yeast earthiness. Very nice aromas with good balance and complexity of malt, plum, and fruity/spicy yeast ester notes; with good strength. Taste of raisin, plum, banana, toast, brown bread, clove, pepper, molasses, candi sugar, light chocolate, light bubblegum, and yeast earthiness. Lingering notes of dark fruit, banana, toast, dark bread, clove, molasses, candi sugar, and yeast earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Very nice balance and complexity of dark malt and fruity/spicy esters; with good plum flavor presence and zero cloying sweetness after the finish. Medium carbonation and medium-full bodied; with a creamy, slick, and slightly syrupy mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is well hidden with only a small warming present after the finish. Overall this is a very nice quadrupel style. All around good balance and complexity of malt, yeast, and plum flavors; and very smooth to sip on. A very enjoyable offering.